“Of course I will. I’ll make sure to tell her all the fun stories about you, too.”
My head fell back as I groaned. “Please, no. I want her to still like me.”
“Sorry, I can't make any promises. You shouldn’t have put her next to us.” Josie shrugged, eyes flashing with amusement and ideas she would no doubt tell Emmie.
“Is it too late to resend your tickets?” I mused.
Josie just laughed. “Nope.”
My brother Wyatt sauntered over, Jayden in his arms. “And what are you two laughing about over here?”
“Just convinced your wife to leave you and be with me instead.” I draped my arm over Josie’s shoulder with a smirk. Wyatt’s eyes narrowed like he was contemplating if he should hit me or not.
“Get your arm off her.”
“Aw, just like old times.” I pulled her in so I could kiss the top of her head.
“Mateo.” Wyatt’s tone was sharp, but it stopped being scary when I was ten.
“Thanks, Jo,” I said, squeezing her shoulder one last time before I let her go, and stepped toward my brother. I reachedout and pulled Jayden into my arms, chubby hands grabbing my cheeks. “Your dad is a grumpy pants.”
Jayden laughed like he agreed. Beside me, Wyatt tugged Josie into his side, kissing her forehead. My heart twisted in my chest at the sight of them. I couldn’t deny I wanted something like they had.
Everything was still too new and fresh between Emmie and me. But maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t that unrealistic anymore.
21
EMMIE
“I’m about to meet his family tomorrow.” I paced the length of my room, nibbling on the side of my thumb while Erin sat on my bed watching me. “We’ve only known each other for a month. It’s too soon. Hell, I haven’t even toldmydad yet.”
“Em.” Erin’s voice didn’t even break the barrier in my mind.
“What if they don’t like me? They could take one look at me and think I’m not good for him. Oh god, what if Mateo realizes he doesn’t even like me?”
I was full-on word vomiting now, but I couldn’t stop myself.
“Em,” Erin tried again.
“I like him, E. I really like him, which is scary in itself, and then adding in his family and my dad?” I whirled around to face her. “Did you know he’s extremely family oriented? He calls and talks to his mom and brothers like twice a week. He FaceTimes his nieces and nephew all the time. It’s incredibly sweet.”
And it really was. Knowing how much Mateo cared abouthis family made him ten times hotter in my eyes, but it also gave the pressure of wanting them to like me. If they were all so close, then welcoming someone new into the fold wasn’t going to be easy.
“Add on the fact I woke up this morning with him going down on me like I was his last meal on earth! How can I face his family knowing he bent me like a pretzel just hours before?”
I raked my hand through my hair, fingers getting snagged on tangles.
“See, getting involved is hard. Having feelings is hard. Yet, my dumbass had to go and start falling for Mateo Boone of all people. Fuck my life.” I fell back onto my bed with a loud huff. “What do I do?” I mumbled with my hair covering my face.
“Okay, first off, that was an incredible freak out. Probably one of your best,” Erin remarked. I blew the hair from my face and sent her a glare. “What? It was.” She moved until she was facing me, sitting crossed-legged on my bed.
“Second, take a deep breath with me.” She breathed in deeply, sending me a glare when I didn’t immediately do it. “And exhale. Inhale…” We did it a few times until my heart rate slowed down.
“Meeting Mateo’s family isn’t that big of a deal. As you just pointed out, he’s extremely close to them, which means you’re bound to meet them sooner or later. He’s willing to show you a whole different side to him, a side that is important,” Erin said.
“What if this doesn’t work out between us, and I’ve already met them?”
“The world won’t collapse if that happens. Plenty of people have met their partner's family and then broken up. It is what it is. You can’t control it or what the future holds,Em.” The way Erin said it brought to mind what Mateo said to me at the rink a week ago.
